Obamacare survives -- now what?

It has now survived two near-death experiences. The Supreme Court could have struck down the law, but it didn’t. And with President Barack Obama in the White House for four more years, it’s not going to be repealed — or even gutted.

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Now it has to work. If it does, more Americans might come to accept it — and even be glad it passed.

If it doesn’t, Obama’s legacy will be tarnished. And Republicans will say “we told you so” for years to come.

Either way, Americans will now see what the law — the Affordable Care Act — is supposed to look like. The big pieces, including coverage of pre-existing conditions and the hated individual mandate, won’t kick in until 2014. Until now, all Americans have seen are the warm-up acts — like letting young adults stay on their parents’ plans — that aren’t really central to the law.

“We’ll have a real-world test of the Affordable Care Act and whether employers accept it, whether the public accepts it,” said Drew Altman, president and chief executive officer of the Kaiser Family Foundation. “That will change the entire discussion about the Affordable Care Act, because up to this point, it really hasn’t been a discussion of what the Affordable Care Act really does.”

Here’s what is supposed to happen in 2014: Everyone will be able to get health insurance, even if they have pre-existing conditions. Most people will have to be insured, unless they really can’t afford it. Subsidies will help many people pay. Every state will have a health “exchange” — a marketplace run by either the state or the feds or both — where people can get coverage if they don’t have it through the workplace or a government program like Medicare. Medicaid will expand to cover more low-income people.

What are the odds that everything will go according to plan? Pretty close to zero.

If the price of health coverage in the exchanges is too high, for example, conservative critics expect a backlash.“I think people will be in for serious rate shock, especially in those individual markets that have been relatively lightly regulated,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum.

Democrats, however, are sticking with the theory they’ve had from the beginning: that Obamacare will become broadly accepted, and politically untouchable, once Americans experience the benefits. “Once people get the benefits, you can never take them away,” said longtime Democratic strategist Bob Shrum. “This will go well beyond a 50-50 issue.”

Here are some potential land mines to watch for over the next two years:

What else will opponents do to fight the law?

Republicans and other opponents aren’t just going to wave the white flag. They’ll still try to repeal parts of the law, ramp up investigations and target sections they see as legally vulnerable.

One fight already under way centers on whether people will be able to get subsidies in health exchanges that are run by the feds, or only when the states themselves run them. There’s also a pending legal challenge from Liberty University against the requirement that would make most businesses with more than 50 workers provide health coverage or pay a fine. Liberty says that requirement is unconstitutional — and yes, it has vowed to fight all the way to the Supreme Court.

Enjoy your gloat. HITLER WON the Popular VOTE, too. NOT because he was TRULY the BEST MAN but because HE and HIS Propaganda Machine had managed to FOOL the PUBLIC. FORWARD - which was once the SLOGAN of the SOCIALIST MOVEMENT will now become AMERICA'S Slogan. I EXPECT the NEW Flag Obama DESIGNED will soon be flying over ALL Public SCHOOLS and Buildings.

YOU CAN CONSIDER THE END OF OUR COUNTRY AS WE HAVE KNOWN IT ../ OPEN DOOR TO ALL MUZZIES AND NOW THE ILLEGAL ALIEN CRIMINAL MEXICANS) THEY ARE NOT UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS ) HAVE A FREE PASS TO ENTER OUR COUNTRY / WATCH YOUR TAXES GO UP // YOUR WELFARE ROLES WILL INCREASE BY AT LEAST 25 PERCENT . YOU WILL PAY FOR ALL THIS CRAP

Well I half heartedly voted for Romney. I am willing to give Obama a chance. It will damn sure be interesting to see how this all pays out. If Obamacare fails, it will be a catastrophe in more ways than one. I just dont understand how all of this is going to get paid for. I , like a lot of people were caught between a rock and a hard place. As an American I simply could not see anyone that should go without health care or actually dying because they didnt have the correct coverage. On the other hand I was appalled at the underhanded way the present bill was passed, that Obama focused on it when he should have been focusing on jobs AND the BIG fact that the insurance companies APPROVE the bill as do pharaceutical companies-- that should tell you something--. So you can be guaranteed that the middle income wage earners are going to get screwed again and have to pay the lions share of all the costs for others health care..... a real bittersweet dilemma. Whew, four more years... I sure hope its not four more years like the past four. God help us all.

Can you imagine the bureaucratic costs alone of administering this bill? Medicare is riddled with fraud and loses billions each year, Can you even begin to imagine how this 4000 plus page bill, which I am sure even the president hasnt even read, will become a nightmare of loopholes, interpretation, legal battles, fraud, corruption, etc. Oh well, I am glad for people that have worked all their lives and lost their insurance thru rough economic times and not too happy for all the welfare recipients that will have even more reason to stay on the public dole. Im sure we all know someone that is single with children , I do, and simply cannot afford to go to work and lose all of their benefits, I would do the same thing in the same situation, but it will become even worse now.

If taxing the rich, President Obama's plan, was a solution for our fiscal woes, I'd be thrilled. My sole concern was and is fiscal. I believe we just kissed our chances of seriously necessary major reform goodbye. Will be so relieved if Mr. Obama proves me wrong.

Americans remember how Obamacare was created last election behind closed doors with a select few and crafted in just a few short weeks....Then Obama and Rahm strongarmed their party to vote this piece of crap into legislation...Don't think Americans aren't going to be up in arms with this proported government healthcare...Another one of Obama's lies about transparency...

Obamacare will live on and with time will be seen as one of the greatest achievements of any President.

People don't like change but as they see the benefits and stop believing all the scare stories they will come to realize it was a change that needed to happen.

It is totally immoral and un Christian to live in a society that stands by and watches people go bankrupt due to healthcare costs, to see their loved ones die because the insurance company pulls the coverage.

Today those Americans who were reliant on Obamacare to keep them covered will be shedding tears of joy, this was about life and death for some people.